How old should one be to see a horror film?

I was thinking about my earlier post where I'd said a minor's brain isn't ready to handle uncensored horror until he or she is twenty-one, and if that would apply to movie actors and actresses such as the kids that starred in The Children. I don't think so. I mean, are you going to let him or her make the movie and then tell him or her they can't watch it? That's ludicrous! That's hypocrisy! There were some actresses in the past, like when Brooke Shields made Alice Sweet Alice, that couldn't watch it though she'd starred in it because it scared her too much. When I was 18 and my little brother was 13,I remember sneaking him into Friday the 13th 3D after I'd been severely warned not to do so, plus sneaking out of my window at 4 a.m. to go see The Boogeyman when I was 16. I watched The Amityville Horror at the theater when I was 14. Watching those films never really bothered me.

So I guess this would only apply to the written word, which is always scarier and more psychologically disturbing than the movie. I'll have to still stand firm and suggest one not read this wacky, uncensored horror shit till one is no longer a minor.

Lee Pletzers's novel, The Game

I just finished reading Lee Pletzers's novel, The Game, the ultimate horror novel for gamers. Not only was it packed with virtual horror excitement, but also with characters' situations that felt real. We get inside the head of a junkie hooker, an underage girl being raped by her coke-head mom's boyfriend and her subsequent horror at her little brother's abduction by the nemesis, a woman not human, and her huge demon slave ready to beat anyone into the dust who goes against his master's wishes. I've never read a novel like this before, and I definitely recommend it. Buy it when it comes out (it's not yet released) and you won't be sorry!

Collaborating With Another Author

I'd always thought collaborating with another author would be a drag. How many author collaborative books have you read that kicked ass? Not many? Same here! I thought of how I'd loved Elizabeth Massie's short stories, but not Dreams of the Dark (Dark Shadows) with Stephen M. Rainey. I thought of Black House by King and Straub, which I didn't care for. In fact, I couldn't think of one single collaboration book I liked except for Skipp and Spector's The Cleanuup. This would be a failed venture, right?

Wrong!

I've been collaborting on a story with Ro Van Saint, and it's the best story I've ever taken part in. Plus, it overcomes what I think is the worst part of being an author--the loneliness. I'd never written anything so sick in my life! And if there aren't many great collabs, then why not rise to the challenge?

So if you get the chance, definitely collaborate. You won't regret it.

How old should one be to read uncensored horror?

I guess it's time to tackle this subject. Of course it would be illegal to pimp my stories out to underage kids--doing that wouldn't even cross my mind--but I think one should be twenty-one before one reads uncensored horror.

Why, do you ask?

Because I don't think a minor's mind can handle this shit. It amazes me that I can read it all the time and not go crazy (unless I'm already crazy, which is entirely possible, lol). And the Leisure Horror novels go even farther than Stephen King does. I don't want to be responsible for anyone losing their mind, having a nervous breakdown, etcetera (although abusing caffeine's probably behind the latter).

Instead of the Twilight saga, I recommend worthy horror stories without cussing and sex by authors like H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson and Algernon Blackwood. That way you're getting trained (if you're a writer) or entertained by quality shit, not douchey crap.

Just something to think about. I guess if certain parents let their kids have uncensored horror, then you got away with it, kiddo. But I don't want to be responsible for it.

A. R.

The Masters of Horror anthology

Lucky enough to have been invited into the Masters of Horror writing organization, I've been asked to review the Masters of Horror anthology--not the same Masters of Horror on Showtime. I gladly oblige:

This was a entertaining read from beginning to end. The stories lurking within truly creeped me out on so many levels. There's still a bit of proofreading to be done, but what published book is typoless? Sixteen authors contributed to this antho' guaranteed to rob you of sleep at night by bringing you the nightmare you've most feared...

The first three stories are excellent. I especially loved Carole Gill's "Truth Hurts," where a woman writing about douchey vampires gets her comeuppance. A man is seduced by the lamia in "Ladies of the Scale" by Bob Morgan Jr., and Lee Pletzer's "Teeth" will make you think twice about taking your son fishing again. A boy gets revenge on abusive adults in "Devil Inside" by William Cook, and we go on a Lovecraftian journey with Jason Warden's amazing story, "Once Seen." K.K.'s "The Visitation" will have you shuddering, and Mark Edward Hall's "The Fear" makes a case against hunting for a lost relative. Other great, creepy tales are "Wounds" by Joseph Mulak and "The Barnes Family Reunion" by Angel Leigh McCoy.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the unrestrained gore, but if psychological is your thing, you'll also find compelling stories within. When this book comes out, any horror fan would be a fool not to get a copy.

A. R. Braun

Scariest Ever

I've been saying Coffin County by Gary A. Braunbeck is the scariest book I've ever read, but I don't think any writer today has anything on those 70's writers who wrote those satanic books like Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist (believe it or not, there are scarier writers than Stephen King). I mean, really, is anything more frightening than that? I don't think so. I just finished RB the other night and I was more than haunted--I was outright spooked. I keep promising myself not to read those kind of books anymore, but being let down by most of the modern authors, I always find myself returning to them.

Back in the day, an author had to be way talented to have a book contract. You can't go wrong with 70's horror. I've never read a book from back then that I didn't like: The Wolfen by Whitley Strieber, The Hellfire Club and The Haunting of Julia by Peter Straub, and old Stephen King books when he was a hardcore horror author--you can't go wrong there.

It would be great if we modern authors made an effort to be original and gave it all we've got to achieve the scare, giving these classic authors a run for their money.

A. R. 3/13/2010

Now I'll appreciate writing horror more!

Well, it turns out sitting in a cubicle for eight hours is not for me. And I thought proofreading, critiquing, fixing critiqued stories, submitting all over, studying grammar and syntax and reading and writing all the time was a butt-load of work. Of course they had me selling fucking magazines (techically racing schedules but you get the idea), which was impossible. No matter what you said to those people they weren't fucking buying. Which is fine. Some people are talented to do that and some people are talented at writing horror. In fact, anyone with a job is talented at something. (I'm going to get myself in trouble here; people will say strippers? Bunny ranch employees? YEAH.)

Now I'm faced with finding another job where my success doesn't depend on other people or going back to washing windows. Oh well, my novel will be done and I'll be ready to query agents by this summer or fall.

Hey, at least The Olympics are over! No more motherfucking curling!